Wednesday, 14th November 2007 at 9:54 pm

Victor Matfield joins the exodus

It’s fast becoming the farewell tour no one wants to go on… Jake White’s penultimate South African tour - unless Feverpitcher is very much mistaken, there’s a lengthy book tour still to come - was set to be a last grand adieu for the coach, with his triumphant squad intact. Now it’s last hurrah with some of the gloss taken off, as the Springboks wrap up the year in somewhat underwhelming fashion.

John Smit has managed to get time off from his new nine-to-five in France to skipper the team in the Wales game, but there changes aplenty elsewhere. Os du Randt and Bob Skinstad have retired, Gurthro Steenkamp has injured his hand, Fourie du Preez is set to have an operation/go on honeymoon, Butch James is playing for Bath (and scored a try in his first game out last weekend), and Ashwin Willemse and Percy Montgomery have club commitments in France.

And now Victor Matfield has added his name to the list of unavailables, preferring to spend time with his family; it all takes some of the grandeur out of White’s swansong. And if the Wales game features a somewhat lesser squad, the Barbarians game will see more of the regulars (led by Smit) absent, the side that takes to Twickenham a shadow of the World Champion Springboks. Out with a deserved bang? Well no, not quite - but then Feverpitcher can’t pretend to be terribly suprised. Pulling on the boots for a trip to Wales after the euphoria of the World Cup as understandably qualified appeal; we’ll pay measured attention to Cardiff, then, and dwell upon a magical night in Paris a little longer instead.